Fresh grazing all day at Graze Kitchen
View(s):When without a burst of fireworks and fanfare the Hilton Colombo quietly unveiled its new Graze Kitchen and LAB Lounge and Bar last month, it still generated quite a buzz among Colombo’s foodies and dining out crowd. They had waited long to see what marvels the refurbishment would bring.
The hotel’s newly designed lobby is built around a muted rainforest theme, but where this would normally conjure up visions of lush green abundance, this is by contrast, a mellow space in restful shades of brown, grey and cinnamon.
The L.A.B – the Lobby Lounge and Bar is where guests can chill and peruse the a la carte menu looking out onto that Hilton old favourite – the lotus pond while listening to a live jazz band. The eye is immediately drawn to the brass sculptures by Prageeth Manohara, but we cannot linger. We are here to discover another new offering -in the spot where the Spices and Emperor’s Wok once ruled is a modern fusion restaurant which promises more with less.
It’s all down to a simple question: How do you reinvent the ubiquitous buffet that five-stars like the Hilton need to offer their guests?
The Graze Kitchen serves breakfast, lunch and dinner – in short it’s all day dining, the idea being that you can savour delectable portions all through the day. Yes, it’s an invitation to graze… and the menu is designed that you will graze and graze, says Executive Chef Kazi Hassan, in all seriousness, adding that it will continue to change and evolve..so you need never fear encountering the same fare on subsequent visits.
Chef Kazi is literally brimming with ideas. His background blends Italian , Australian Fusion Asian, Greek, English and Aussie pub style food, plus he trained with Michelin-star French-American Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Arriving in Colombo last December he understands that Sri Lankans like their spicy time-honoured favourites but also are more travelled and thus open to embracing new cuisine. He takes genuine pride that the menus at Graze Kitchen are finely wrought and fresh. That seems at odds when you think of all day eating but when you see the dishes, not in huge serving platters but in small tempting presentations, aromatic and most of all, freshly cooked, you get it. Less is more seems to be the concept.
Chef Kazi has come to Colombo from the Hilton Kuala Lumpur and says his target is to put up a world class product. Walking us through the buffet he lets us into a small secret- not only is he always reinventing the food, he’s got a great eye for decor. The huge green apples adorning the counters, he hand-carried from Singapore, having spied them in a florist’s shop and set his heart on having them at Graze. His Sri Lankan colleagues are also cajoled into picking up items of interest, like the cocoa pods beautifully displayed in a large glass jar on the dessert counter.
You can order a la carte but when there’s Italian, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Thei, Sri Lankan, Australian all so temptingly positioned, it seems unlikely. Each cuisine has its own space with carefully atmospheric settings. The specialist chefs manning the counters are happy to chat and tell you more about the dishes they have served up. “Each of our international chefs have a team of local chefs working with them,” the Hilton’s Manager, Marketing Communications Gigi de Silva tells us with pride. Chef Kazi adds that with this excellent team of chefs there is both authenticity and originality in the cuisine, and creative fusion.
So my lime juice is replaced with an airily light concoction of lemongrass, pandan and cinnamon before we take a walk around to begin grazing.
The Mediterranean- Italian section seems a good place to start and there is a spread- modern yet with the traditional dishes you would expect: salads, antipasti, a cheese platter, fresh breads, pizza, rotisserie items, pastas, the mood complemented by the pots of herbs, growing as if on your own kitchen windowsill.
The Japanese section invites closer perusal but the Indian chef who incidentally is specialised in Mughlai cuisine also beckons with an enviable array – biriyani, fish masala, rich mutton curry and raita, chutneys, pickles, breads all made in-house. At the Chinese cum Thei counter, there is dim sum, fried rice of course, spicy stir fries and even steamed fish Huan style if you are in the mind to be healthy. We don’t tarry at the Sri Lankan station but for those who like home fare, they are in good hands.
Perhaps recognising that Sri Lankans have a terrible weakness for sweets- the dessert spread is lavish. Traditional sweets like panipol pancakes and milk toffees sit alongside sophisticated international goodies, dainty French pastries, tarts and tiramisu, the latter made with genuine mascarpone. The only piece of advice we can offer is that you keep the dessert in mind as you graze.
Graze Kitchen is large, it can seat 240 – with spaces aplenty for both large groups of family and friends, equally quiet nooks for romantic dinners for couples. There are two private dining areas – including a cosy room for 14 and you can even opt for al-fresco dining by the pond on the deck.
With its accent on fresh, natural produce that Chef Kazi is uncompromisingly dedicated to and a spread that offers authentic cuisine coupled with innovative fusion, Graze Kitchen has a distinctively new experience to offer, an achievement in Colombo’s crowded dining scene.
R.S.